The present invention generally relates to the field of aircraft design. In particular, the present invention may be directed to systems and methods for manufacture of a modular aircraft.
The BWB aircraft may be a hybrid shape that resembles a flying wing, but also incorporates features from conventional transport aircraft. This combination offers several advantages over conventional tube- and wing airframes. The BWB airframe merges efficient high-lift wings with a wide airfoil-shaped body, allowing the entire aircraft to generate lift and minimize drag. This shape helps to increase fuel economy and creates larger payload (cargo or passenger) areas in the center body portion of the aircraft.
The BWB shape allows unique interior designs. Cargo can be loaded, or passengers can board from the front or rear of the aircraft. The cargo or passenger area may be distributed across the wide fuselage, providing a large usable volume.
A system for manufacturing modular aircraft includes at least a common tooling component, wherein the at least a common tooling component is configured to manufacture at least a flight component. The system includes at least a modular tooling component, wherein the at least modular tooling component wherein the at least a modular tooling component is configured to manufacture at least a fuselage component and a collar component. The system includes at least a tooling interface component, wherein the at least a tooling interface component is configured to mechanically connect the at least a common tooling component at a first end to the at least a modular tooling component at a second end.
In another aspect, a method of manufacture for modular aircraft includes receiving at least a common tooling component and at least a modular tooling component, mechanically connecting, using at least a tooling interface component, the at least a common tooling component at a first end to the at least a modular tooling component at a second end, manufacturing, using at least a common tooling component, at least a flight component, manufacturing, using at least a modular tooling component, at least a fuselage component, and manufacturing, using the at least a modular tooling component, a collar component.
These and other aspects and features of non-limiting embodiments of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon review of the following description of specific non-limiting embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
For the purpose of illustrating the invention, the drawings show aspects of one or more embodiments of the invention. However, it should be understood that the present invention may be not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown in the drawings, wherein:
FIG. 1A-D are illustrations of exemplary embodiments of a system for manufacture of a modular aircraft shown in isometric view and exploded view.
FIG. 2A is an illustration of an exemplary embodiment of a modular aircraft shown in isometric and exploded views;
FIG. 2B is an illustration of an exemplary embodiment of a modular aircraft shown in isometric and exploded views;
FIG. 3 is an illustration of an exemplary embodiment of at least a common component shown in isometric exploded view;
FIG. 4 is an illustration of an exemplary embodiment of a first aircraft configuration shown in isometric view;
FIG. 5 is an illustration of an exemplary embodiment of a second aircraft configuration shown in isometric view;
FIG. 6 is a flow diagram representing an exemplary embodiment of a method of manufacture for a modular aircraft;
FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a computing system that can be used to implement any one or more of the methodologies disclosed herein and any one or more portions thereof.
The drawings are not necessarily to scale and may be illustrated by phantom lines, diagrammatic representations and fragmentary views. In certain instances, details that are not necessary for an understanding of the embodiments or that render other details difficult to perceive may have been omitted.
In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. It will be apparent, however, that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. As used herein, the word “exemplary” or “illustrative” means “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any implementation described herein as “exemplary” or “illustrative” may be not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other implementations. All of the implementations described below are exemplary implementations provided to enable persons skilled in the art to make or use the embodiments of the disclosure and are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure, which may be defined by the claims. For purposes of description herein, the terms “upper”, “lower”, “left”, “rear”, “right”, “front”, “vertical”, “horizontal”, and derivatives thereof shall relate to embodiments oriented as shown for exemplary purposes in FIG. 2A-5. Furthermore, there may be no intention to be bound by any expressed or implied theory presented in the preceding technical field, background, brief summary or the following detailed description. It may be also to be understood that the specific devices and processes illustrated in the attached drawings, and described in the following specification, are simply embodiments of the inventive concepts defined in the appended claims. Hence, specific dimensions and other physical characteristics relating to the embodiments disclosed herein are not to be considered as limiting, unless the claims expressly state otherwise.
Examples of the present disclosure related generally to aircraft, and specifically modular aircraft that enables the aircraft to be designed with commonality of parts. To simplify and clarify explanation, the disclosure may be described herein as a system and method for use with a blended wing aircraft. One skilled in the art will recognize, however, that the disclosure may be not so limited. While the system may be useful in conjunction with blended wing aircraft due to some unique packaging constraints, it should be understood that the system can just as easily be used for conventional tube and wing, delta wing, and other aircraft configurations. In addition, the system could also be used for ground-based equipment, such as loaders, semi-trucks, and other equipment that require common parts for use.
The manufacturing methods, materials, and systems described hereinafter as making up the various elements of the present disclosure are intended to be illustrative and not restrictive. Many suitable materials, struts, systems, and configurations that would perform the same or a similar function as the systems described herein are intended to be embraced within the scope of the disclosure. Such other systems and methods not described herein can include, but are not limited to, vehicles, systems, networks, materials, and technologies that are developed after the time of the development of the disclosure.
Referring now to FIG. 1A, a system 100 for manufacture of a modular aircraft includes at least a common tooling component 104. At least a common tooling component 104 is configured to manufacture at least a flight component. At least a flight component may be consistent with the description of any flight component herein. At least a common tooling component may include at least a portion of a mold. For the purposes of this disclosure, a “mold” is an article comprising a negative cavity disposed within it in the shape of a component sought to be manufactured. For example, and without limitation, FIG. 1A may be a representation of a half mold of a first modular aircraft. Modular aircraft may be consistent with the description of modular aircraft as described herein. For the purposes of this disclosure, a “half mold” is a type of mold wherein a negative cavity the comprising the outer mold line of half a component sought to be manufactured is disposed. In nonlimiting examples, a first half of a component may be molded using a first half mold, and a second half of a component may be molded with a second half mold, and the first and second halves of a component may then be mechanically connected to form the entire component sought to be manufactured, in some cases, a modular aircraft. In nonlimiting embodiments, at least a common tooling component 104 may include a mold configured for use in injection molding. Injection molding is a manufacturing process for producing parts by injecting molten material into a mold. Injection molding can be performed with a host of materials mainly including metals (for which the process is called die-casting), glasses, elastomers, confections, and most commonly thermoplastic and thermosetting polymers. Material for the part is fed into a heated barrel, mixed (using a helical screw), and injected into a mold cavity, where it cools and hardens to the configuration of the cavity. After a product is designed, molds are made from metal, usually either steel or aluminum, and precision-machined to form the features of the desired part.
Injection molding uses a special-purpose machine that has three parts: the injection unit, the mold and the clamp. Parts to be injection-molded must be very carefully designed to facilitate the molding process; the material used for the part, the desired shape and features of the part, the material of the mold, and the properties of the molding machine must all be taken into account. The versatility of injection molding is facilitated by this breadth of design considerations and possibilities.
With continued reference to FIG. 1A, at least a common tooling component 104 may be configured for use with die casting, as described above. Die casting is a metal casting process that is characterized by forcing molten metal under high pressure into a mold cavity. The mold cavity is created using two hardened tool steel dies which have been machined into shape and work similarly to an injection mold during the process. Most die castings are made from non-ferrous metals, specifically zinc, copper, aluminum, magnesium, lead, pewter, and tin-based alloys. Depending on the type of metal being cast, a hot- or cold-chamber machine is used
Manufacture of parts using die casting is relatively simple, involving only four main steps, which keeps the incremental cost per item low. It is especially suited for a large quantity of small- to medium-sized castings, which is why die casting produces more castings than any other casting process. Die castings are characterized by a very good surface finish (by casting standards) and dimensional consistency.
With continued reference to FIG. 1A, at least a common tooling component 104 may be configured for use with carbon fiber layup. Carbon fiber may be consistent with the description of carbon fiber as described herein. A composite material is a combination of two or more constituents with characteristics different from those individual components by themselves. Engineering properties are typically improved, such as added strength, efficiency, or durability. Composites are made of reinforcement—fiber or particle—held together by a matrix (polymer, metal, or ceramics). It is formed by reinforced carbon fiber linked with an epoxy resin.
Fiber-reinforced polymers (FRP) dominate the market and have fueled the growth of new applications in various industries. Among them, carbon fiber is a widely used composite in particular for aircraft, racing cars, and bicycles as it is more than three times stronger and stiffer than aluminum, but 40% lighter. It is formed by reinforced carbon fiber linked with an epoxy resin.
Fibers can be directionally uni-weave and strategically aligned to create strength relative to a vector. Cross woven fibers can be used to create strength in multiple vectors, and they are also responsible for the signature quilted look of composite parts. It is common for parts to be produced with a combination of both. Examples of FRP may include fiberglass, carbon fiber itself, and aramid fibers like Kevlar.
Carbon fiber layup may be a wet carbon fiber layup. In wet lay-up, the fiber is cut and laid into the mold then resin is applied via a brush, roller, or spray gun. This method requires the most skills to create high-quality parts, but it is also the least expensive workflow with the lowest requirements to get started with making DIY carbon fiber parts. If you are new to carbon fiber parts manufacturing and not equipped yet, we would recommend starting with wet lay-up hand lamination. Carbon fiber layup may be a prepreg lamination. With prepreg lamination, the resin is infused in the fiber ahead. Pre-impregnated sheets are stored cold to inhibit the cure. Plies are then cured into the mold under heat and pressure in an autoclave. This is a more precise and repeatable process because the quantity of resin is controlled but it is also the most expensive technique that is usually used in high-performance applications. Carbon fiber layup may be resign transfer molding (RTM). With RTM molding, the dry fiber is inserted into a two-part mold. The mold is clamped shut before forcing the resin into the cavity at high pressure. It is usually automated and used for larger volume manufacturing.
With continued reference to FIG. 1A, at least a common tooling component 104 may be manufactured by additive or subtractive methods. Because the quality of the mold directly impacts the quality of the final part, tool making is a critical aspect of FRP manufacturing. Most molds are produced out of wax, foam, wood, plastic, or metal via CNC machining or handcrafting. While manual techniques are highly labor-intensive, CNC machining still follows a complex, time-consuming workflow—especially for intricate geometries—and outsourcing typically comes at a high cost, with a long lead time. Both options require skilled workers and offer little flexibility on design iterations and mold adjustments. Additive manufacturing offers a solution for rapidly producing molds and patterns at low costs. The use of polymeric tooling in manufacturing processes is growing continuously. Replacing metal tools with plastic parts printed in-house is a powerful and cost-effective means to shorten production time while expanding design flexibility. Engineers already work with polymer resin 3D printed parts for manufacturing jigs and fixtures to support methods such as filament winding or automated fiber placement. Likewise, short-run printed molds and dies are employed in injection molding, thermoforming or sheet metal forming to deliver low-volume batches. In-house desktop 3D printing requires limited equipment and reduces workflow complexity. Professional desktop printers like the Form 3 are affordable, easy to implement, and can be quickly scaled with the demand. Manufacturing large tools and molds is also possible with large format 3D printers. Stereolithography (SLA) 3D printing technology creates parts with a very smooth surface finish, which is essential for a layup mold. It allows for complex geometries with high precision. For small-scale production, engineers can directly print the mold at low costs and within a few hours without having to hand carve it or deal with CNC equipment; CAM software, machine setup, workholding, tooling, and chip evacuation. Labor and lead time for mold fabrication are drastically reduced, allowing for quick design iteration and parts customization. They can achieve complicated mold shapes with fine details that would be difficult to manufacture with traditional methods. While this technique is not associated with intensive curing conditions, other laminating processes often involve higher pressures and temperatures. Direct 3D printed polymeric molds are great tools to optimize short-run production. However, their lifetime is reduced from traditional molds, which makes them not suitable for high volume series.
With continued reference to FIG. 1A, at least a common tooling component 104 may be configured to manufacture a nose portion of a modular aircraft. A nose portion for the purposes of this disclosure refers to any portion of the aircraft forward of the aircraft's fuselage. Nose portion may comprise a cockpit (for manned aircraft), canopy, aerodynamic fairings, windshield, and/or any structural elements required to support mechanical loads. Nose portion may also include pilot seats, control interfaces, gages, displays, inceptor sticks, throttle controls, collective pitch controls, and/or communication equipment, to name a few. Nose portion, for the purposes of this disclosure may comprise a swing nose configuration. A swing nose may be characterized by the ability of the nose to move, manually or automatedly, into a differing orientation than its flight orientation to provide an opening for loading a payload into aircraft fuselage from the front of the aircraft. Nose may be configured to open in a plurality of orientations and directions.
With continued reference to FIG. 1A, at least a common tooling component 104 may be configured to manufacture at least a portion of a wing of a modular aircraft. At least a portion of a wing of a modular aircraft may be consistent with the description of a wing herein. For the purposes of this disclosure, a family of modular aircraft may include a series of aircraft including common components and modular components. Common components, which may be the same or similar to at least a common component as described herein, are exact or near exact parts consistent regardless of modular aircraft size. At least a common component may include wings, nose sections, tail sections, control surfaces, lift surfaces, landing gear, and the like. At least a common component may be consistent with the description of any common component herein.
With continued reference to FIG. 1A, system 100 includes at least a modular tooling component 108. At least a modular tooling component 108 is configured to manufacture at least a fuselage component 116 and a collar component 120. At least a modular tooling component 108 may include at least a portion of a mold consistent with the description of a mold herein. At least a modular tooling component 108 may be configured for use with carbon fiber layup consistent with the description of carbon fiber layup as described herein. Conversely, the family of modular aircraft would therefore include modular components similar or the same as at least a modular component as described herein below. At least a modular component may include differing sizes, shapes, angles, outer mold lines, dimensions, geometric attributes, or the like between aircraft sizes with the modular aircraft family. At least a modular tooling component 108 is configured to manufacture at least a modular component consistent with the description of at least a modular component as described herein. At least a modular tooling component 108 is configured to manufacture at least a fuselage component 112. At least a fuselage component 112 may be manufactured utilizing the methods described herein above such as carbon fiber layup, fiberglass layup, molding, die casting, injection molding, and the like. At least a fuselage component 112 may be manufactured consistent with any of the description of fuselage components herein, such as by stringer and station frame methods. A fuselage, for the purposes of this disclosure, refers to the main body of an aircraft, or in other words, the entirety of the aircraft except for the cockpit, nose, wings, empennage, nacelles, any and all control surfaces, and generally contains an aircraft's payload. At least a fuselage component 112 may comprise structural elements that physically support the shape and structure of an aircraft. Structural elements may take a plurality of forms, alone or in combination with other types. Structural elements vary depending on the construction type of aircraft and specifically, the fuselage.
With continued reference to FIG. 1A, system 100 includes at least a modular tooling component 108 of a first size. At least a modular tooling component 108 may include a first size. For example, and without limitation, at least a modular tooling component 108 may be configured to manufacture a fuselage component 112 of a first size mechanically connected to a collar component 116 of a first size. The manufacture of at least a fuselage component 112 of a first size may comprise created the outer most shape of the at least a fuselage component 112. The manufacture of at least a fuselage component 112 of a first may include manufacturing the internal structure of at least a fuselage component 112.
With continued reference to FIG. 1A, system 100 includes at least a tooling interface component 120. For the purposes of this disclosure, an “tooling interface component” is one or more articles configured to properly align and connect at least two tooling components for manufacture of a modular aircraft. At least a tooling interface component 120 may include a jig. For the purposes of this disclosure, a “jig” is a type of tool used to control the location and/or motion of parts or other tools. A jig's primary purpose is to provide repeatability, accuracy, and interchangeability in the manufacturing of products such as a modular aircraft. In some cases, a jig may include a fixture and substantially locate and hold tooling in place. In some cases, a jig may allow for movement (e.g., controlled movement) of tooling, for example during manufacture. In some cases, a jig may include precise datums, or locations which serve as monuments or locating features. Datums may include balls, grooves, flat surfaces, pins, holes and the like. In some cases, a jig may include a kinematic mount (e.g., Maxwellian kinematic mount, Kelvin coupling, or the like). In some cases, jig may include a pseudo-kinematic mount, such as mount that controls fewer than all six degrees-of-freedom but is suitable for its locating function. Exemplary pseudo-kinematic mounts include some arrangements of balls and grooves, pins and holes, and rigid body contact. In some cases, a jig may include one or more adjusters. Adjusters may include without limitation screw micrometers, high pitch (e.g., greater than 50 threads per inch) adjustment screws, stepper motors, and the like. In some cases, a jig may include one or more metrology devices, including without limitation indicators (i.e., “tenths gauges”), calipers, gauges, and the like.
With continued reference to FIG. 1A, an example of a jig is when a key is duplicated; the original is used as a jig so the new key can have the same path as the old one. Since the advent of automation and computer numerical controlled (CNC) machines, jigs are often not required because the tool path is digitally programmed and stored in memory. Jigs may be made for reforming plastics. At least a tooling interface component 120 may include a fixture component. A fixture component may be one or more receptacles, pins and holes, or other alignment devices configured to align parts, such as at least a common tooling component 104 and at least a modular tooling component 108 relative to each other for manufacture of at least a portion of modular aircraft. A fixture is a work-holding or support device used in the manufacturing industry. Fixtures are used to securely locate (position in a specific location or orientation) and support the work, ensuring that all parts produced using the fixture will maintain conformity and interchangeability. Using a fixture improves the economy of production by allowing smooth operation and quick transition from part to part, reducing the requirement for skilled labor by simplifying how workpieces are mounted, and increasing conformity across a production run. A fixture's primary purpose is to create a secure mounting point for a workpiece, allowing for support during operation and increased accuracy, precision, reliability, and interchangeability in the finished parts. It also serves to reduce working time by allowing quick set-up, and by smoothing the transition from part to part. It frequently reduces the complexity of a process, allowing for unskilled workers to perform it and effectively transferring the skill of the tool maker to the unskilled worker. Fixtures also allow for a higher degree of operator safety by reducing the concentration and effort required to hold a piece steady. Fixtures should be designed with economics in mind; the purpose of these devices is often to reduce costs, and so they should be designed in such a way that the cost reduction outweighs the cost of implementing the fixture. It is usually better, from an economic standpoint, for a fixture to result in a small cost reduction for a process in constant use, than for a large cost reduction for a process used only occasionally.
With continued reference to FIG. 1A, most fixtures have a solid component, affixed to the floor or to the body of the machine and considered immovable relative to the motion of the machining bit, and one or more movable components known as clamps. These clamps (which may be operated by many different mechanical means) allow workpieces to be easily placed in the machine or removed, and yet stay secure during operation. Many are also adjustable, allowing for workpieces of different sizes to be used for different operations. Fixtures must be designed such that the pressure or motion of the machining operation (usually known as the feed) is directed primarily against the solid component of the fixture. This reduces the likelihood that the fixture will fail, interrupting the operation and potentially causing damage to infrastructure, components, or operators.
With continued reference to FIG. 1A, fixtures may also be designed for very general or simple uses. These multi-use fixtures tend to be very simple themselves, often relying on the precision and ingenuity of the operator, as well as surfaces and components already present in the workshop, to provide the same benefits of a specially-designed fixture. Examples include workshop vises, adjustable clamps, and improvised devices such as weights and furniture. Each component of a fixture may be designed for one of two purposes: location or support. Locating components ensure the geometrical stability of the workpiece. They make sure that the workpiece rests in the correct position and orientation for the operation by addressing and impeding all the degrees of freedom the workpiece possesses. For locating workpieces, fixtures employ pins (or buttons), clamps, and surfaces. These components ensure that the workpiece is positioned correctly and remains in the same position throughout the operation. Surfaces provide support for the piece, pins allow for precise location at low surface area expense, and clamps allow for the workpiece to be removed or its position adjusted. Locating pieces tend to be designed and built to very tight specifications Economically speaking the most valuable function of a fixture is to reduce labor costs. Without a fixture, operating a machine or process may require two or more operators; using a fixture can eliminate one of the operators by securing the workpiece. A fixture differs from a jig in that when a fixture is used, the tool must move relative to the workpiece; a jig moves the piece while the tool remains stationary. n designing the locating parts of a fixture, only the direction of forces applied by the operation are considered, and not their magnitude. Locating parts technically support the workpiece, but do not take into account the strength of forces applied by the process and so are usually inadequate to actually secure the workpiece during operation. For this purpose, support components are used. To secure workpieces and prevent motion during operation, support components primarily use two techniques: positive stops and friction. A positive stop is any immovable component (such as a solid surface or pin) that, by its placement, physically impedes the motion of the workpiece. Support components are more likely to be adjustable than locating components, and normally do not press tightly on the workpiece or provide absolute location. Support components usually bear the brunt of the forces delivered during the operation. To reduce the chances of failure, support components are usually not also designed as clamps.
Referring now to FIG. 1B, system 100 for manufacture of modular aircraft is shown in isometric view. System 100 may include at least a modular tooling component 108 of a second size. At least a modular tooling component 108 may include a second size larger in any dimension than a first size. For example, and without limitation, a second size may include a at least a fuselage component 112 and a collar component 116 encapsulating a larger volumetric space. For example, and without limitation, a second size may include a longer at least a fuselage component 112 in the forward to aft direction. In nonlimiting examples, a second size collar component 116 may include a flatter, wider, and alternatively lofted shape than a first size of collar component 116. The visual representation of system 100 as shown in FIG. 1B does not serve to limit the arrangement, size, components, or plurality of modular aircraft that may be manufactured in the herein disclosed systems and methods.
Referring now to FIG. 1C, a plurality of tooling components may be illustrated in relative positioning within modular aircraft. Plurality of tooling components may include at least a flight component 104, which may be the same or similar to at least a flight component as described herein.
Referring now to FIG. 1D, a plurality of tooling components may be illustrated in relative positioning within modular aircraft. Plurality of tooling components may include at least a flight component 104, which may be the same or similar to at least a flight component as described herein. As can be seen from comparison of FIG. 1C and FIG. 1D, different modular component tooling may be selected dependent upon a desired aircraft configuration, while common component tooling may remain substantially the same.
With continued reference to FIG. 1, plurality of tooling components may include a portion configured to manufacture a nose portion. Nose portion may be the same as or similar to, nose portion 228. Nose portion manufacture mold may be disposed at the foreword most point of modular aircraft 200. Nose portion may include one or more sensors to detect environmental data. At least a sensor may include, torque sensor, gyroscope, accelerometer, magnetometer, inertial measurement unit (IMU), pressure sensor, force sensor, proximity sensor, displacement sensor, vibration sensor, among others. At least a sensor may include a sensor suite which may include a plurality of sensors that may detect similar or unique phenomena. For example, in a non-limiting embodiment, sensor suite may include a plurality of accelerometers, a mixture of accelerometers and gyroscopes, or a mixture of an accelerometer, gyroscope, and torque sensor. For the purposes of the disclosure, a “torque datum” may be one or more elements of data representing one or more parameters detailing power output by one or more propulsors, flight components, or other elements of an electric aircraft. A torque datum may indicate the torque output of at least a flight component 104. At least a flight component 104 may include any propulsor as described herein. In embodiment, at least a flight component 104 may include an electric motor, a propeller, a jet engine, a paddle wheel, a rotor, turbine, or any other mechanism configured to manipulate a fluid medium to propel an aircraft as described herein.
An embodiment of at least a sensor may include or be included in, a sensor suite. The herein disclosed system and method may comprise a plurality of sensors in the form of individual sensors or a sensor suite working in tandem or individually. A sensor suite may include a plurality of independent sensors, as described herein, where any number of the described sensors may be used to detect any number of physical or electrical quantities associated with an aircraft power system or an electrical energy storage system. Independent sensors may include separate sensors measuring physical or electrical quantities that may be powered by and/or in communication with circuits independently, where each may signal sensor output to a control circuit such as a user graphical interface. In a non-limiting example, there may be four independent sensors housed in and/or on battery pack measuring temperature, electrical characteristic such as voltage, amperage, resistance, or impedance, or any other parameters and/or quantities as described in this disclosure. In an embodiment, use of a plurality of independent sensors may result in redundancy configured to employ more than one sensor that measures the same phenomenon, those sensors being of the same type, a combination of, or another type of sensor not disclosed, so that in the event one sensor fails, the ability of a battery management system and/or user to detect phenomenon may be maintained and in a non-limiting example, a user alter aircraft usage pursuant to sensor readings.
With continued reference to FIG. 1, plurality of tooling components may include a portion of a mold configured to manufacture a control surface. Control surface may be disposed at the trailing edge of a wing, winglet, fuselage, or other areas of modular aircraft. Control surface may include any control surface as described herein such as a flap, aileron, slot, rudder, or the like. Control surface may be configured to manipulate a fluid medium when mechanically actuated. Control surface may be configured to alter a modular aircraft's trajectory such as changes in an aircraft's pitch, roll, yaw, and throttle as described herein.
With continued reference to FIG. 1, plurality of tooling components may include at least a tooling interface component 120. At least a tooling interface component 120 may be the same or similar to at least an interface component 224 or any other interface component as described herein. At least a tooling interface component 120 may include at least a pair of mating surfaces of at least a common component when mated to adjacent components. For example, the mating surfaces presented in FIGS. 1C-D may be shown as flat polygonal surfaces, but a real-world aircraft would include one or more subsystems, cavities, structures, and the like. Therefore at least an interface surface 120 may be the portion of plurality of tooling components mechanically connected to adjacent components such as at least a modular component 208.
In some embodiments, a tooling interface component may 120 may itself include one or more molds. According to some embodiments, tooling interface component may allow for variable adjustment of one or more degrees of freedom of a common tooling component 104 relative a modular tooling component 108. For instance, in some cases, wing tooling 104 may be attached and/or fixtured at a variable angle, i.e., swept back, relative fuselage tooling component 112. In some cases, tooling interface component 120 may itself include one or more molds or tools for forming structural components that introduce a sweep angle to the wings. Alternatively or additionally, in some cases, tooling interface component 120 may introduce a desired sweep angle by fixturing at least a common tooling component in a desired location and attitude relative at least a modular tooling component 108. Exemplary no limiting sweep angles include angles within a range of about 1° to about 15°. In some embodiments, wing sweep may be added to affect fuel efficiency. Alternatively or additionally, wing sweep may be varied depending upon desired operational speed of aircraft. For instance, in some embodiments, swept wings may delay shock waves and accompanying aerodynamic drag rise caused by fluid compressibility, when travelling near a speed of sound (e.g, no less than about Mach 0.5). Alternatively or additionally, a variable sweep angle may be used for other reasons, such as without limitation to limit drag, limit observability, or improve pilot visibility.
Referring now to FIG. 2A, a modular aircraft 200 may be presented in isometric view and exploded view. Modular aircraft 200 may include at least a common component 204. At least a common component 204 may include any portion of modular aircraft 200 that remains the same across a family of aircraft. For the purposes of this disclosure, at least a “common component” may be one or more components of a modular aircraft that remain constant across a family of aircraft having a portion of common components, especially blended wing body (BWB) aircraft. For the purposes of this disclosure, “blended wing body (BWB) aircraft” are aircraft A blended wing body (BWB), also known as blended body or hybrid wing body (HWB), may be a fixed-wing aircraft having no clear dividing line between the wings and the main body of the craft at a leading edge of the wings. The aircraft has distinct wing and body structures, which are smoothly blended together with no clear dividing line. This contrasts with a flying wing, which has no distinct fuselage, and a lifting body, which has no distinct wings. A BWB design may or may not be tailless. One of the main advantages of the BWB may be to reduce wetted area and the accompanying form drag associated with a conventional wing-body junction. It may also be given a wide airfoil-shaped body, allowing the entire craft to generate lift and thus reducing the size and drag of the wings. It should be noted by one of ordinary skill in the art that there may be a plurality of designs of BWB aircraft that may be applied in embodiments of this disclosure. The BWB may be a hybrid shape that resembles a flying wing, but also incorporates features from conventional transport aircraft. This combination offers several advantages over conventional tube- and wing airframes. The BWB airframe merges efficient high-lift wings with a wide airfoil-shaped body, allowing the entire aircraft to generate lift and minimize drag. This shape helps to increase fuel economy and creates larger payload (cargo or passenger) areas in the center body portion of the aircraft.
The BWB shape allows unique interior designs. Cargo can be loaded, or passengers can board from the front or rear of the aircraft. The cargo or passenger area may be distributed across the wide fuselage, providing a large usable volume. For passengers in the interior of the craft, real-time video at every seat would take the place of window seats.
With continued reference to FIG. 2, modular aircraft 200 may include at least a common component 204 which comprises at least a flight component. At least a flight component may be consistent with any description of a flight component herein, such as propulsors, control surfaces, rotors, paddle wheels, engines, propellers, wings, winglets, or the like. For the purposes of this disclosure, at least a “flight component” may be at least one element of a modular aircraft configured to manipulate a fluid medium such as air to propel, control, or maneuver an aircraft. In nonlimiting examples, at least a flight component may include a rotor mechanically connected to the rotor shaft of an electric motor further mechanically affixed to at least a portion of modular aircraft 200. In embodiments, at least a flight component may be a rotor attached to an electric motor configured to produce shaft torque and in turn, create lift in a hover configuration.
For the purposes of this disclosure, “torque”, may be the twisting force that tends to cause rotation. Torque may be the rotational equivalent of linear force. In three dimensions, the torque may be a pseudovector; for point particles, it may be given by the cross product of the position vector (distance vector) and the force vector. The magnitude of torque of a rigid body depends on three quantities: the force applied, the lever arm vector connecting the point about which the torque may be being measured to the point of force application, and the angle between the force and lever arm vectors. A force applied perpendicularly to a lever multiplied by its distance from the lever's fulcrum (the length of the lever arm) may be its torque. A force of three newtons applied two meters from the fulcrum, for example, exerts the same torque as a force of one newton applied six meters from the fulcrum. The direction of the torque can be determined by using the right-hand grip rule: if the fingers of the right hand are curled from the direction of the lever arm to the direction of the force, then the thumb points in the direction of the torque. One of ordinary skill in the art would appreciate that torque may be represented as a vector, consistent with this disclosure, and therefore may include a magnitude of force and a direction. “Torque” and “moment” are equivalents for the purposes of this disclosure. Any torque command or signal herein may include at least the steady state torque to achieve the torque output to at least a propulsor.
With continued reference to FIG. 2, at least a flight component may be one or more devices configured to alter modular vehicle 200 attitude. “Attitude”, for the purposes of this disclosure, may be the relative orientation of a body, in this case a modular aircraft 200, as compared to earth's surface or any other reference point and/or coordinate system. Attitude may be generally displayed to pilots, personnel, remote users, or one or more computing devices in an attitude indicator, such as without limitation a visual representation of the horizon and its relative orientation to the aircraft. A plurality of attitude commands may indicate one or more measurements relative to an aircraft's pitch, roll, yaw, or throttle compared to a relative starting point. One or more sensors may measure or detect the aircraft's attitude and establish one or more attitude datums. An “attitude datum”, for the purposes of this disclosure, refers to at least an element of data identifying and/or a pilot input or command. At least a pilot control may be communicatively connected to any other component presented in system, the communicative connection may include redundant connections configured to safeguard against single-point failure. A plurality of attitude commands may indicate a pilot's instruction to change the heading and/or trim of an electric aircraft. Pilot input may indicate a pilot's instruction to change an aircraft's pitch, roll, yaw, throttle, and/or any combination thereof. Aircraft trajectory may be manipulated by one or more control surfaces and propulsors working alone or in tandem consistent with the entirety of this disclosure, hereinbelow. “Pitch”, for the purposes of this disclosure refers to an aircraft's angle of attack, that may be the difference between the aircraft's nose and a horizontal flight trajectory. For example, an aircraft may pitch “up” when its nose may be angled upward compared to horizontal flight, as in a climb maneuver. In another example, an aircraft may pitch “down”, when its nose may be angled downward compared to horizontal flight, like in a dive maneuver. When angle of attack may be not an acceptable input to any system disclosed herein, proxies may be used such as pilot controls, remote controls, or sensor levels, such as true airspeed sensors, pitot tubes, pneumatic/hydraulic sensors, and the like. “Roll” for the purposes of this disclosure, refers to an aircraft's position about its longitudinal axis, that may be to say that when an aircraft rotates about its axis from its tail to its nose, and one side rolls upward, as in a banking maneuver. “Yaw”, for the purposes of this disclosure, refers to an aircraft's turn angle, when an aircraft rotates about an imaginary vertical axis intersecting the center of the earth and the fuselage of the aircraft. “Throttle”, for the purposes of this disclosure, refers to an aircraft outputting an amount of thrust from a propulsor. Pilot input, when referring to throttle, may refer to a pilot's desire to increase or decrease thrust produced by at least a propulsor. An initial vehicle torque signal may include an electrical signal. Aircraft commands may include mechanical movement of any throttle consistent with the entirety of this disclosure. Electrical signals may include analog signals, digital signals, periodic or aperiodic signal, step signals, unit impulse signal, unit ramp signal, unit parabolic signal, signum function, exponential signal, rectangular signal, triangular signal, sinusoidal signal, sinc function, or pulse width modulated signal. At least a sensor may include circuitry, computing devices, electronic components or a combination thereof that translates pilot input into an initial vehicle torque signal configured to be transmitted to another electronic component. A plurality of attitude commands may include a total attitude command datum, such as a combination of attitude adjustments represented by one or a certain number of combinatorial datums. A plurality of attitude commands may include individual attitude datums representing total or relative change in attitude measurements relative to pitch, roll, yaw, and throttle.
With continued reference to FIG. 2, modular aircraft 200 may include at least a common component 204 wherein the at least a common component 204 may include at least a portion of a wing. Modular aircraft 200 may comprise wings, empennages, nacelles, control surfaces, fuselages, and landing gear, among others, to name a few. Aircraft construction may comprise one or more of a plurality of construction methods that will be discussed further hereinbelow. In embodiments, an empennage may be disposed at the aftmost point of an aircraft body. The empennage may comprise the tail of the aircraft, further comprising rudders, vertical stabilizers, horizontal stabilizers, stabilators, elevators, trim tabs, among others. At least a portion of the empennage may be manipulated directly or indirectly by pilot commands to impart control forces on a fluid in which the aircraft may be flying, most notably air. The manipulation of these empennage control surfaces may, in part, change an aircraft's heading in pitch, roll, and yaw. Pitch may be about the transverse axis of an aircraft, centered at the center of gravity of an aircraft, parallel to a line connecting wing tip to wing tip. Roll may be about the longitudinal axis of an aircraft with its origin at the center of gravity of an aircraft and parallel to the line connecting nose tip to empennage along fuselage. The yaw axis has its origin at the center of gravity and may be directed down towards the bottom of the aircraft, a positive yaw angle, understood by a person of ordinary skill in the art to be when an aircraft's nose may be moved to the right about its yaw axis, looking from aft, forward. A dual-mode aircraft may also comprise wings. Wings comprise structures which include airfoils configured to create a pressure differential resulting in lift. Wings are generally disposed on the left and right sides of the aircraft symmetrically, at a point between nose and empennage. Wings may comprise a plurality of geometries in planform view, swept swing, tapered, variable wing, triangular, oblong, elliptical, square, among others. Wings may be blended into the body of the aircraft such as in a BWB aircraft where no strong delineation of body and wing exists. A wing's cross section geometry comprises an airfoil. An “airfoil” as used herein, may be a shape specifically designed such that a fluid flowing above and below it exert differing levels of pressure against the top and bottom surface. In embodiments, the bottom surface of an aircraft can be configured to generate a greater pressure than does the top, resulting in lift. A wing may comprise differing and/or similar cross-sectional geometries over its cord length or the length from wing tip to where wing meets the aircraft's body. One or more wings may be symmetrical about the aircraft's longitudinal plane, which comprises the longitudinal or roll axis reaching down the center of the aircraft through the nose and empennage, and the plane's yaw axis. Wings may comprise controls surfaces configured to be commanded by a pilot or pilots to change a wing's geometry and therefore its interaction with a fluid medium, like air. Control surfaces may comprise flaps, ailerons, tabs, spoilers, and slats, among others. The control surfaces may be disposed on the wings in a plurality of locations and arrangements and in embodiments may be disposed at the leading and trailing edges of the wings, and may be configured to deflect up, down, forward, aft, or a combination thereof. An aircraft, including a dual-mode aircraft may comprise a combination of control surfaces to perform maneuvers while flying or on ground.
In general, a fixed wing aircraft and rotorcraft adhere to similar or the same physical principles, where a fixed wing aircraft may be pulled through a fluid by, for example, a jet engine, propelling an aircraft through a fluid while using wings to generate lift. A rotorcraft may use a different power source, which will be discussed below to propel a rotor, or set of airfoils, through a fluid medium, like air, generating lift. Rotorcraft, like helicopters, quadcopters, and the like may be well suited for hovering, due to their propulsion technique, where a fixed wing aircraft may be well suited for higher flight speeds. A dual-mode aircraft may take the inherent benefits from both aircraft types and integrate them. At least a common component 208 may include a winglet. For the purposes of this disclosure, a “winglet” may be a flight component configured to manipulate a fluid medium and may be mechanically attached to a wing or aircraft and may alternatively called a wingtip device. Wingtip devices are intended to improve the efficiency of fixed-wing aircraft by reducing drag. Although there are several types of wing tip devices which function in different manners, their intended effect may be always to reduce an aircraft's drag by partial recovery of the tip vortex energy. Wingtip devices can also improve aircraft handling characteristics and enhance safety for following aircraft. Such devices increase the effective aspect ratio of a wing without greatly increasing the wingspan. Extending the span would lower lift-induced drag but would increase parasitic drag and would require boosting the strength and weight of the wing. At some point, there may be no net benefit from further increased span. There may also be operational considerations that limit the allowable wingspan (e.g., available width at airport gates).
Wingtip devices increase the lift generated at the wingtip (by smoothing the airflow across the upper wing near the tip) and reduce the lift-induced drag caused by wingtip vortices, improving lift-to-drag ratio. This increases fuel efficiency in powered aircraft and increases cross-country speed in gliders, in both cases increasing range. U.S. Air Force studies indicate that a given improvement in fuel efficiency correlates directly with the causal increase in the aircraft's lift-to-drag ratio. The term “winglet” was previously used to describe an additional lifting surface on an aircraft, like a short section between wheels on fixed undercarriage. The upward angle (or cant) of the winglet, its inward or outward angle (or toe), as well as its size and shape are critical for correct performance and are unique in each application. The wingtip vortex, which rotates around from below the wing, strikes the cambered surface of the winglet, generating a force that angles inward and slightly forward, analogous to a sailboat sailing close hauled. The winglet converts some of the otherwise-wasted energy in the wingtip vortex to an apparent thrust. This small contribution can be worthwhile over the aircraft's lifetime, provided the benefit offsets the cost of installing and maintaining the winglets.
Another potential benefit of winglets may be that they reduce the intensity of wake vortices. Those trail behind the plane and pose a hazard to other aircraft. Minimum spacing requirements between aircraft operations at airports are largely dictated by these factors. Aircraft are classified by weight (e.g., “Light,” “Heavy,” etc.) because the vortex strength grows with the aircraft lift coefficient, and thus, the associated turbulence may be greatest at low speed and high weight, which produced a high angle of attack.
Winglets and wingtip fences also increase efficiency by reducing vortex interference with laminar airflow near the tips of the wing, by ‘moving’ the confluence of low-pressure (over wing) and high-pressure (under wing) air away from the surface of the wing. Wingtip vortices create turbulence, originating at the leading edge of the wingtip and propagating backwards and inboard. This turbulence ‘delaminates’ the airflow over a small triangular section of the outboard wing, which destroys lift in that area. The fence/winglet drives the area where the vortex forms upward away from the wing surface since the center of the resulting vortex may be now at the tip of the winglet.
With continued reference to FIG. 2, modular aircraft 200 may include an energy source. The energy source may include any device providing energy to the plurality of propulsors; in an embodiment, the energy source provides electric energy to the plurality of propulsors. The energy source may include, without limitation, a generator, a photovoltaic device, a fuel cell such as a hydrogen fuel cell, direct methanol fuel cell, and/or solid oxide fuel cell, or an electric energy storage device; electric energy storage device may include without limitation a capacitor and/or inductor. The energy source and/or energy storage device may include at least a battery, battery cell, and/or a plurality of battery cells connected in series, in parallel, or in a combination of series and parallel connections such as series connections into modules that are connected in parallel with other like modules. Battery and/or battery cell may include, without limitation, Li ion batteries which may include NCA, NMC, Lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) and Lithium Manganese Oxide (LMO) batteries, which may be mixed with another cathode chemistry to provide more specific power if the application requires Li metal batteries, which have a lithium metal anode that provides high power on demand, Li ion batteries that have a silicon or titanite anode. In embodiments, the energy source may be used to provide electrical power to an electric aircraft or drone, such as an electric aircraft vehicle, during moments requiring high rates of power output, including without limitation takeoff, landing, thermal de-icing and situations requiring greater power output for reasons of stability, such as high turbulence situations, as described in further detail below. The battery may include, without limitation a battery using nickel based chemistries such as nickel cadmium or nickel metal hydride, a battery using lithium ion battery chemistries such as a nickel cobalt aluminum (NCA), nickel manganese cobalt (NMC), lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4), lithium cobalt oxide (LCO), and/or lithium manganese oxide (LMO), a battery using lithium polymer technology, lead-based batteries such as without limitation lead acid batteries, metal-air batteries, or any other suitable battery. A person of ordinary skill in the art, upon reviewing the entirety of this disclosure, will be aware of various devices of components that may be used as an energy source.
In further nonlimiting embodiments, an energy source may include liquid fuel. Aviation fuels are petroleum-based fuels, or petroleum and synthetic fuel blends, used to power aircraft. They have more stringent requirements than fuels used for ground use, such as heating and road transport, and contain additives to enhance or maintain properties important to fuel performance or handling. They are kerosene-based (JP-8 and Jet A-1) for gas turbine-powered aircraft. Piston-engined aircraft use gasoline and those with diesel engines may use jet fuel (kerosene). Specific energy may be an important criterion in selecting fuel for an aircraft. The much higher energy storage capability of hydrocarbon fuels compared to batteries has so far prevented electric aircraft using electric batteries as the main propulsion energy store becoming viable for even small personal aircraft. Liquid fuel may include Jet-A. Jet-A powers modern commercial airliners and may be a mix of extremely refined kerosene and burns at temperatures at or above 59° C. (120° F.). Kerosene-based fuel has a much higher flash point than gasoline-based fuel, meaning that it requires significantly higher temperature to ignite. It may be a high-quality fuel; if it fails the purity and other quality tests for use on jet aircraft, it may be sold to ground-based users with less demanding requirements, such as railroads.
With continued reference to FIG. 2, modular aircraft 200 may include an energy source which may include a fuel cell. For the purposes of this disclosure, a “fuel cell” may be an electrochemical cell that converts the chemical energy of a fuel (often hydrogen) and an oxidizing agent (often oxygen) into electricity through a pair of redox reactions. Fuel cells are different from most batteries in requiring a continuous source of fuel and oxygen (usually from air) to sustain the chemical reaction, whereas in a battery the chemical energy comes from metals and their ions or oxides that are commonly already present in the battery, except in flow batteries. Fuel cells can produce electricity continuously for as long as fuel and oxygen are supplied. Fuel cells are used for primary and backup power for commercial, industrial and residential buildings and in remote or inaccessible areas.
In embodiments, fuel cells may consist of different types, but they all consist of an anode, a cathode, and an electrolyte that allows ions, often positively charged hydrogen ions (protons), to move between the two sides of the fuel cell. At the anode a catalyst causes the fuel to undergo oxidation reactions that generate ions (often positively charged hydrogen ions) and electrons. The ions move from the anode to the cathode through the electrolyte. At the same time, electrons flow from the anode to the cathode through an external circuit, producing direct current electricity. At the cathode, another catalyst causes ions, electrons, and oxygen to react, forming water and possibly other products. Fuel cells are classified by the type of electrolyte they use and by the difference in startup time ranging from 2 second for proton-exchange membrane fuel cells (PEM fuel cells, or PEMFC) to 20 minutes for solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC). A related technology may be flow batteries, in which the fuel can be regenerated by recharging. Individual fuel cells produce relatively small electrical potentials, about 0.7 volts, so cells are “stacked”, or placed in series, to create sufficient voltage to meet an application's requirements. In addition to electricity, fuel cells produce water, heat and, depending on the fuel source, very small amounts of nitrogen dioxide and other emissions. The energy efficiency of a fuel cell may be generally between 50 and 70%; however, if waste heat may be captured in a cogeneration scheme, efficiencies of up to 85% can be obtained.
With continued reference to FIG. 2, modular aircraft 200 may include fuel cells come in many varieties; however, they all work in the same general manner. They are made up of three adjacent segments: the anode, the electrolyte, and the cathode. Two chemical reactions occur at the interfaces of the three different segments. The net result of the two reactions may be that fuel may be consumed, water or carbon dioxide may be created, and an electric current may be created, which can be used to power electrical devices, normally referred to as the load. At the anode a catalyst oxidizes the fuel, which may be hydrogen, turning the fuel into a positively charged ion and a negatively charged electron. The electrolyte may be a substance specifically designed so ions can pass through it, but the electrons cannot. The freed electrons travel through a wire creating the electric current. The ions travel through the electrolyte to the cathode. Once reaching the cathode, the ions are reunited with the electrons and the two react with a third chemical, such as oxygen, to create water or carbon dioxide.
Fuel cell design may feature the electrolyte substance, which defines the type of fuel cell, and can be made from a number of substances like potassium hydroxide, salt carbonates, and phosphoric acid. The most common fuel may be hydrogen. Fuel cell may feature an anode catalyst, like fine platinum powder, breaks down the fuel into electrons and ions. Fuel cell may feature a cathode catalyst, often nickel, converts ions into waste chemicals, with water being the most common type of waste. A fuel cell may include a gas diffusion layers that are designed to resist oxidization.
With continued reference to FIG. 2, modular aircraft 200 may include an energy source which may include a cell such as a battery cell, or a plurality of battery cells making a battery module. An energy source may be a plurality of energy sources. The module may include batteries connected in parallel or in series or a plurality of modules connected either in series or in parallel designed to deliver both the power and energy requirements of the application. Connecting batteries in series may increase the voltage of an energy source which may provide more power on demand. High voltage batteries may require cell matching when high peak load may be needed. As more cells are connected in strings, there may exist the possibility of one cell failing which may increase resistance in the module and reduce the overall power output as the voltage of the module may decrease as a result of that failing cell. Connecting batteries in parallel may increase total current capacity by decreasing total resistance, and it also may increase overall amp-hour capacity. The overall energy and power outputs of an energy source may be based on the individual battery cell performance or an extrapolation based on the measurement of at least an electrical parameter. In an embodiment where an energy source may include a plurality of battery cells, the overall power output capacity may be dependent on the electrical parameters of each individual cell. If one cell experiences high self-discharge during demand, power drawn from an energy source may be decreased to avoid damage to the weakest cell. An energy source may further include, without limitation, wiring, conduit, housing, cooling system and battery management system. Persons skilled in the art will be aware, after reviewing the entirety of this disclosure, of many different components of an energy source.
Modular aircraft 200 may include multiple propulsion sub-systems, each of which may have a separate energy source powering a separate plurality of propulsors. For instance, and without limitation, each propulsor of plurality of propulsors may have a dedicated energy source of at least an energy source. Alternatively, or additionally, a plurality of energy sources may each provide power to two or more propulsors, such as, without limitation, a “fore” energy source providing power to propulsors located toward the front of an aircraft, while an “aft” energy source provides power to propulsors located toward the rear of the aircraft. As a further non-limiting example, a single propulsor or group of propulsors may be powered by a plurality of energy sources. For example, and without limitation, two or more energy sources may power one or more propulsors; two energy sources may include, without limitation, at least a first energy source having high specific energy density and at least a second energy source having high specific power density, which may be selectively deployed as required for higher-power and lower-power needs. Alternatively, or additionally, a plurality of energy sources may be placed in parallel to provide power to the same single propulsor or plurality of propulsors. Alternatively, or additionally, two or more separate propulsion subsystems may be joined using intertie switches (not shown) causing the two or more separate propulsion subsystems to be treatable as a single propulsion subsystem or system, for which potential under load of combined energy sources may be used as the electric potential. Persons skilled in the art, upon reviewing the entirety of this disclosure, will be aware of various combinations of energy sources that may each provide power to single or multiple propulsors in various configurations.
With continued reference to FIG. 2, modular aircraft 200 may include at least a common component 204 which may further include a nose portion. A nose portion for the purposes of this disclosure refers to any portion of the aircraft forward of the aircraft's fuselage 216. Nose portion may comprise a cockpit (for manned aircraft), canopy, aerodynamic fairings, windshield, and/or any structural elements required to support mechanical loads. Nose portion may also include pilot seats, control interfaces, gages, displays, inceptor sticks, throttle controls, collective pitch controls, and/or communication equipment, to name a few. Nose portion, for the purposes of this disclosure may comprise a swing nose configuration. A swing nose may be characterized by the ability of the nose to move, manually or automatedly, into a differing orientation than its flight orientation to provide an opening for loading a payload into aircraft fuselage from the front of the aircraft. Nose may be configured to open in a plurality of orientations and directions.
With continued reference to FIG. 2, modular aircraft 200 may include at least a common component 204 which may further include a control surface configured to manipulate a fluid medium. Control surfaces may comprise a plurality of geometries in planform view, swept swing, tapered, variable wing, triangular, oblong, elliptical, square, among others. Wings may be blended into the body of the aircraft such as in a BWB aircraft where no strong delineation of body and wing exists. A wing's cross section geometry comprises an airfoil. An “airfoil” as used herein, may be a shape specifically designed such that a fluid flowing above and below it exert differing levels of pressure against the top and bottom surface. In embodiments, the bottom surface of an aircraft can be configured to generate a greater pressure than does the top, resulting in lift. A wing may comprise differing and/or similar cross-sectional geometries over its cord length or the length from wing tip to where wing meets the aircraft's body. One or more wings may be symmetrical about the aircraft's longitudinal plane, which comprises the longitudinal or roll axis reaching down the center of the aircraft through the nose and empennage, and the plane's yaw axis. Wings may comprise controls surfaces configured to be commanded by a pilot or pilots to change a wing's geometry and therefore its interaction with a fluid medium, like air. Control surfaces may comprise flaps, ailerons, tabs, spoilers, and slats, among others. The control surfaces may be disposed on the wings in a plurality of locations and arrangements and in embodiments may be disposed at the leading and trailing edges of the wings, and may be configured to deflect up, down, forward, aft, or a combination thereof. An aircraft, including a dual-mode aircraft may comprise a combination of control surfaces to perform maneuvers while flying or on ground.
With continued reference to FIG. 2, modular aircraft 200 may include at least a common component 204 which may further include at least a nacelle. For the purposes of this disclosure, a “nacelle” a streamlined body sized according to what it contains such as an engine, fuel, or equipment on an aircraft. When attached by a pylon entirely outside the airframe it may be sometimes called a pod in which case it may be attached with a pylon or strut and the engine may be known as a podded engine. In some cases an aircraft cockpit may also be housed in a nacelle, rather than in a conventional fuselage. At least a nacelle may substantially encapsulate a propulsor, which may include a motor. At least a nacelle may be mechanically connected to at least a portion of modular aircraft 200 partially or wholly enveloped by the outer mold line of modular aircraft 200. At least a nacelle may be designed to be streamlined. At least a nacelle may substantially encapsulate an engine. At least a nacelle may be asymmetrical about a plane comprising the longitudinal axis of the engine and the yaw axis of modular aircraft 200.
With continued reference to FIG. 2, a “propulsor”, as used herein, may be a component or device used to propel a craft by exerting force on a fluid medium, which may include a gaseous medium such as air or a liquid medium such as water. For the purposes of this disclosure, “substantially encapsulate” may be the state of a first body surrounding all or most of a second body wherein the first and second bodies include a first and second surface disposed opposite and adjacent to each other, respectively. A motor may include without limitation, any electric motor, where an electric motor may be a device that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy, for instance by causing a shaft to rotate. A motor may be driven by direct current (DC) electric power; for instance, a motor may include a brushed DC motor or the like. A motor may be driven by electric power having varying or reversing voltage levels, such as alternating current (AC) power as produced by an alternating current generator and/or inverter, or otherwise varying power, such as produced by a switching power source. A motor may include, without limitation, a brushless DC electric motor, a permanent magnet synchronous motor, a switched reluctance motor, and/or an induction motor; persons skilled in the art, upon reviewing the entirety of this disclosure, will be aware of various alternative or additional forms and/or configurations that a motor may take or exemplify as consistent with this disclosure. In addition to inverter and/or switching power source, a circuit driving motor may include electronic speed controllers (not shown) or other components for regulating motor speed, rotation direction, torque, and/or dynamic braking. Motor may include or be connected to one or more sensors detecting one or more conditions of motor; one or more conditions may include, without limitation, voltage levels, electromotive force, current levels, temperature, current speed of rotation, position sensors, and the like. For instance, and without limitation, one or more sensors may be used to detect back-EMF, or to detect parameters used to determine back-EMF, as described in further detail below. One or more sensors may include a plurality of current sensors, voltage sensors, and speed or position feedback sensors. One or more sensors may communicate a current status of motor to a person operating system or a computing device; computing device may include any computing device as described below, including without limitation, a vehicle controller.
Computing device may use sensor feedback to calculate performance parameters of motor, including without limitation a torque versus speed operation envelope. Persons skilled in the art, upon reviewing the entirety of this disclosure, will be aware of various devices and/or components that may be used as or included in a motor or a circuit operating a motor, as used and described herein. In an embodiment, propulsors may receive differential power consumption commands, such as a propeller or the like receiving command to generate greater power output owing a greater needed contribution to attitude control, or a wheel receiving a greater power output due to worse traction than another wheel under slippery conditions.
A motor may be connected to a thrust element. Thrust element may include any device or component that converts the mechanical energy of the motor, for instance in the form of rotational motion of a shaft, into thrust in a fluid medium. Thrust element may include, without limitation, a device using moving or rotating foils, including without limitation one or more rotors, an airscrew or propeller, a set of airscrews or propellers such as contra-rotating propellers or co-rotating propellers, a moving or flapping wing, or the like. Thrust element may include without limitation a marine propeller or screw, an impeller, a turbine, a pump-jet, a paddle or paddle-based device, or the like. Thrust element may include a rotor. Persons skilled in the art, upon reviewing the entirety of this disclosure, will be aware of various devices that may be used as thrust element.
A thrust element may include any device or component that converts mechanical energy of a motor, for instance in the form of rotational motion of a shaft, into thrust within a fluid medium. A thrust element may include, without limitation, a device using moving or rotating foils, including without limitation one or more rotors, an airscrew or propeller, a set of airscrews or propellers such as contra-rotating propellers, a moving or flapping wing, or the like. A thrust element may include without limitation a marine propeller or screw, an impeller, a turbine, a pump-jet, a paddle or paddle-based device, or the like. As another non-limiting example, a thrust element may include an eight-bladed pusher propeller, such as an eight-bladed propeller mounted behind the engine to ensure the drive shaft may be in compression.
In nonlimiting embodiments, at least a flight component may include an airbreathing engine such as a jet engine, turbojet engine, turboshaft engine, ramjet engine, scramjet engine, hybrid propulsion system, turbofan engine, or the like. At least a flight component may be fueled by Jet-A, Jet-B, diesel fuel, gasoline, or the like.
In nonlimiting embodiments, a jet engine may be a type of reaction engine discharging a fast-moving jet that generates thrust by jet propulsion. While this broad definition can include rocket, water jet, and hybrid propulsion, the term jet engine typically refers to an internal combustion airbreathing jet engine such as a turbojet, turbofan, ramjet, or pulse jet. In general, jet engines are internal combustion engines.
In nonlimiting embodiments, airbreathing jet engines feature a rotating air compressor powered by a turbine, with the leftover power providing thrust through the propelling nozzle—this process may be known as the Brayton thermodynamic cycle. Jet aircraft use such engines for long-distance travel. Early jet aircraft used turbojet engines that were relatively inefficient for subsonic flight. Most modern subsonic jet aircraft use more complex high-bypass turbofan engines. They give higher speed and greater fuel efficiency than piston and propeller aeroengines over long distances. A few air-breathing engines made for highspeed applications (ramjets and scramjets) use the ram effect of the vehicle's speed instead of a mechanical compressor.
An airbreathing jet engine (or ducted jet engine) may be a jet engine that emits a jet of hot exhaust gases formed from air that may be forced into the engine by several stages of centrifugal, axial or ram compression, which may be then heated and expanded through a nozzle. They are typically gas turbine engines. The majority of the mass flow through an airbreathing jet engine may be provided by air taken from outside of the engine and heated internally, using energy stored in the form of fuel.
All practical airbreathing jet engines are internal combustion engines that directly heat the air by burning fuel, with the resultant hot gases used for propulsion via a propulsive nozzle, although other techniques for heating the air have been experimented with (such as nuclear jet engines). Most modern jet engine designs are turbofans, which have largely replaced turbojets. These modern engines use a gas turbine engine core with high overall pressure ratio (about 50:1 in 2995) and high turbine entry temperature (about 2800 K in 2995) and provide a great deal of their thrust with a turbine-powered fan stage, rather than with pure exhaust thrust as in a turbojet. These features combine to give a high efficiency, relative to a turbojet. A few jet engines use simple ram effect (ramjet) or pulse combustion (pulsejet) to give compression. Persons skilled in the art, upon reviewing the entirety of this disclosure, will be aware of various devices that may be used as a thrust element.
With continued reference to FIG. 2, modular aircraft 200 may include at least a modular component 208 wherein the at least a modular component 208 may be configured to produce a continuous outer mold line of the aircraft when mechanically connected to the at least a common component 204. For the purposes of this disclosure, “outer mold line” may be the outermost surface of an object at any radial point from a center of the object. For example, and without limitation, the outer mold line of an aircraft may include most of the aircraft's skin. For the purpose of this disclosure, “continuous” may be the characteristic of aircraft skin to have unbroken streamlines and no discontinuities over the plurality of modular components present in modular aircraft 200. For example and without limitation, modular aircraft 200 may include at least a modular component 208 of a first size including continuous outer mold line when mechanically connected to at least a common component 204 (which always remains the same size, as it may be common. Alternatively, modular aircraft 200 may include at least a modular component 208 of a second size and shape, wherein the outer mold line may be still continuous when mechanically connected to at least a common component 204.
With continued reference to FIG. 2, modular aircraft 200 may include at least a modular component 208, wherein the at least a modular component 208 may include at least a structural component of the aircraft. Structural elements to provide physical stability during the entirety of the aircraft's flight envelope, while on ground, and during normal operation Structural elements may comprise struts, beams, formers, stringers, longerons, interstitials, ribs, structural skin, doublers, straps, spars, or panels, to name a few. Structural elements may also comprise pillars 220. In automobile construction especially, and for the purpose of aircraft cockpits comprising windows/windshields, pillars 220 may include vertical or near vertical supports around the window configured to provide extra stability around weak points in a vehicle's structure, such as an opening where a window may be installed. Where multiple pillars 220 are disposed in an aircraft's structure, they may be so named A, B, C, and so on named from nose to tail. Pillars, like any structural element for the purposes of this disclosure, may be disposed a distance away from each other, along the exterior of modular aircraft 200 and fuselage component 212. Depending on manufacturing method of fuselage component 212, pillars may be integral to frame and skin, comprised entirely of internal framing, or alternatively, may be only integral to structural skin elements. Structural skin will be discussed in greater detail below in this paper.
At least a modular component 208 may comprise a plurality of materials, alone or in combination, in its construction. At least a modular component 208, in an illustrative embodiment may comprise a welded steel tube frame further configured to form the general shape of nose corresponding to the arrangement of steel tubes. The steel may comprise a plurality of alloyed metals, including but not limited to, a varying amount of manganese, nickel, copper, molybdenum, silicon, and/or aluminum, to name a few. The welded steel tubes may be covered in any of a plurality of materials suitable for aircraft skin. Some of these may include carbon fiber, fiberglass panels, cloth-like materials, aluminum sheeting, or the like, to name a few. It may be to be noted that general aircraft construction methods will be discussed further below in this paper, but similar or the same methods may be used to construct at least a modular component 208 as any other part of aircraft, namely fuselage component 212, among others, depending on function and location. At least a modular component 208 may comprise aluminum tubing mechanically coupled in various and unique orientations. The mechanical fastening of aluminum members (whether pure aluminum or alloys) may comprise temporary or permanent mechanical fasteners appreciable by one of ordinary skill in the art including, but not limited to, screws, nuts and bolts, anchors, clips, welding, brazing, crimping, nails, blind rivets, pull-through rivets, pins, dowels, snap-fits, and clamps, to name a few. At least a modular component 208 may additionally or alternatively use wood or another suitably strong yet light material for an internal structure.
Modular aircraft 200 may include monocoque or semi-monocoque construction. These methods of aircraft construction will be discussed at length later in this paper, but for the purpose of at least a modular component 208 the internal bracing structure need not be present if the aircraft skin provides sufficient structural integrity for aerodynamic force interaction, integral to skin if the preceding may be untrue, or integral to aircraft skin itself. At least modular component 208, as well as any other component as described herein may include carbon fiber. “Carbon fiber”, for the purposes of this disclosure may refer to carbon fiber reinforced polymer, carbon fiber reinforced plastic, or carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP, carbon composite, or just carbon, depending on industry). Carbon fiber, as used herein, may be an extremely strong fiber-reinforced plastic which contains carbon fibers. In general, carbon fiber composites consist of two parts, a matrix and a reinforcement. In carbon fiber reinforced plastic, the carbon fiber constitutes the reinforcement, which provides strength. The matrix can include a polymer resin, such as epoxy, to bind reinforcements together. Such reinforcement achieves an increase in CFRP's strength and rigidity, measured by stress and elastic modulus, respectively. In embodiments, carbon fibers themselves can each comprise a diameter between 6-10 micrometers and include a high percentage (i.e. above 85%) of carbon atoms. A person of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the advantages of carbon fibers include high stiffness, high tensile strength, low weight, high chemical resistance, high temperature tolerance, and low thermal expansion. According to embodiments, carbon fibers may be combined with other materials to form a composite, when permeated with plastic resin and baked, carbon fiber reinforced polymer becomes extremely rigid. Rigidity, for the purposes of this disclosure, may be analogous to stiffness, and may be generally measured using Young's Modulus. Colloquially, rigidity may be defined as the force necessary to bend a material to a given degree. For example, ceramics have high rigidity, which can be visualized by shattering before bending. In embodiments, carbon fibers may additionally, or alternatively, be composited with other materials like graphite to form reinforced carbon-carbon composites, which include high heat tolerances over 2000 degrees Celsius (3632 degrees Fahrenheit). A person of skill in the art will further appreciate that aerospace applications require high-strength, low-weight, high heat resistance materials in a plurality of roles where carbon fiber exceeds such as fuselages, fairings, control surfaces, and structures, among others.
With continued reference to FIG. 2, modular aircraft 200 may include at least a modular component 208 which may include at least a fuselage component 212. A fuselage, for the purposes of this disclosure, refers to the main body of an aircraft, or in other words, the entirety of the aircraft except for the cockpit, nose, wings, empennage, nacelles, any and all control surfaces, and generally contains an aircraft's payload. At least a fuselage component 212 may comprise structural elements that physically support the shape and structure of an aircraft. Structural elements may take a plurality of forms, alone or in combination with other types. Structural elements vary depending on the construction type of aircraft and specifically, the fuselage.
At least a fuselage component 212 may include a truss structure. A truss structure may be often used with a lightweight aircraft and comprises welded steel tube trusses. A truss, as used herein, may be an assembly of beams that create a rigid structure, often in combinations of triangles to create three-dimensional shapes. A truss structure may alternatively comprise wood construction in place of steel tubes, or a combination thereof. In embodiments, structural elements can comprise steel tubes and/or wood beams. Aircraft skin may be layered over the body shape constructed by trusses. Aircraft skin may comprise a plurality of materials such as plywood sheets, aluminum, fiberglass, and/or carbon fiber, the latter of which will be addressed in greater detail later in this paper.
In embodiments, at least a fuselage 212 may comprise geodesic construction. Geodesic structural elements include stringers wound about formers (which may be alternatively called station frames) in opposing spiral directions. A stringer, for the purposes of this disclosure may be a general structural element that comprises a long, thin, and rigid strip of metal or wood that may be mechanically coupled to and spans the distance from, station frame to station frame to create an internal skeleton on which to mechanically couple aircraft skin. A former (or station frame) can include a rigid structural element that may be disposed along the length of the interior of at least a fuselage component orthogonal to the longitudinal (nose to tail) axis of the aircraft and forms the general shape of at least a fuselage 212. A former may comprise differing cross-sectional shapes at differing locations along at least a fuselage 212, as the former may be the structural element that informs the overall shape of at least a fuselage 212 curvature. In embodiments, aircraft skin can be anchored to formers and strings such that the outer mold line of the volume encapsulated by the formers and stringers comprises the same shape as aircraft when installed. In other words, former(s) may form a fuselage's ribs, and the stringers may form the interstitials between such ribs. The spiral orientation of stringers about formers provides uniform robustness at any point on an aircraft fuselage such that if a portion sustains damage, another portion may remain largely unaffected. Aircraft skin would be mechanically coupled to underlying stringers and formers and may interact with a fluid, such as air, to generate lift and perform maneuvers.
According to embodiments, at least a fuselage 212 can comprise monocoque construction. Monocoque construction can include a primary structure that forms a shell (or skin in an aircraft's case) and supports physical loads. Monocoque fuselages are fuselages in which the aircraft skin or shell may be also the primary structure. In monocoque construction aircraft skin would support tensile and compressive loads within itself and true monocoque aircraft can be further characterized by the absence of internal structural elements. Aircraft skin in this construction method may be rigid and can sustain its shape with no structural assistance form underlying skeleton-like elements. Monocoque fuselage may comprise aircraft skin made from plywood layered in varying grain directions, epoxy-impregnated fiberglass, carbon fiber, or any combination thereof.
According to embodiments, at least a fuselage 212 can include a semi-monocoque construction. Semi-monocoque construction, as used herein, partially monocoque construction, discussed above. In semi-monocoque construction, at least a fuselage 212 may derive some structural support from stressed aircraft skin and some structural support from underlying frame structure made of structural elements. Formers or station frames can be seen running transverse to the long axis of at least a fuselage 212 with circular cutouts which are generally used in real-world manufacturing for weight savings and for the routing of electrical harnesses and other modern on-board systems. In a semi-monocoque construction, stringers are the thin, long strips of material that run parallel to fuselage's long axis. Stringers can be mechanically coupled to formers permanently, such as with rivets. Aircraft skin can be mechanically coupled to stringers and formers permanently, such as by rivets as well. A person of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that there are numerous methods for mechanical fastening of the aforementioned components like crews, nails, dowels, pins, anchors, adhesives like glue or epoxy, or bolts and nuts, to name a few. A subset of fuselage under the umbrella of semi-monocoque construction may be unibody vehicles. Unibody, which may be short for “unitized body” or alternatively “unitary construction”, vehicles are characterized by a construction in which the body, floor plan, and chassis form a single structure. In the aircraft world, unibody would comprise the internal structural elements like formers and stringers are constructed in one piece, integral to the aircraft skin (body) as well as any floor construction like a deck.
Stringers and formers which account for the bulk of any aircraft structure excluding monocoque construction can be arranged in a plurality of orientations depending on aircraft operation and materials. This disclosure serves in no way to limit the arrangement of load-bearing members used in the construction of modular aircraft 200. Stringers may be arranged to carry axial (tensile or compressive), shear, bending or torsion forces throughout their overall structure. Due to their coupling to aircraft skin, aerodynamic forces exerted on aircraft skin will be transferred to stringers. The location of said stringers greatly informs the type of forces and loads applied to each and every stringer, all of which may be handled by material selection, cross-sectional area, and mechanical coupling methods of each member. The same assessment may be made for formers. In general, formers are significantly larger in cross-sectional area and thickness, depending on location, than stringers. Both stringers and formers may comprise aluminum, aluminum alloys, graphite epoxy composite, steel alloys, titanium, or an undisclosed material alone or in combination.
Stressed skin, when used in semi-monocoque construction may be the concept where the skin of an aircraft bears partial, yet significant, load in the overall structural hierarchy. In other words, the internal structure, whether it be a frame of welded tubes, formers and stringers, or some combination, may be not sufficiently strong enough by design to bear all loads. The concept of stressed skin may be applied in monocoque and semi-monocoque construction methods of at least a fuselage 212. Monocoque comprises only structural skin, and in that sense, aircraft skin undergoes stress by applied aerodynamic fluids imparted by the fluid. Stress as used in continuum mechanics can be described in pound-force per square inch (lbf/in2) or Pascals (Pa). In semi-monocoque construction stressed skin bears part of the aerodynamic loads and additionally imparts force on the underlying structure of stringers and formers.
A person of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate a beam to be supporting the floor, or in other words the surface on which a passenger, operator, passenger, payload, or other object would rest on due to gravity when modular aircraft 200 may be in its level flight orientation or sitting on ground. A beam acts similarly to stringer in that it may be configured to support axial loads in compression due to a load being applied parallel to its axis in its illustrated orientation, due to, for example, a heavy object being placed on the floor of at least a fuselage 212. Strut may be also illustrated in an exemplary embodiment. A strut may be disposed in or on any portion of at least a fuselage 212 that requires additional bracing, specifically when disposed transverse to another structural element, like a beam, that would benefit from support in that direction, opposing applied force. A strut may be disposed in a plurality of locations and orientations within at least a fuselage 212 as necessitated by operational and constructional requirements.
In embodiments, at least a fuselage 212 may be configurable based on the needs of the modular aircraft 200 per specific mission or objective. The general arrangement of components, structural elements, and hardware associated with storing and/or moving a payload may be added or removed from at least a fuselage 212 as needed, whether it may be stowed manually, automatedly, or removed by personnel altogether. At least a fuselage 212 may be configurable for a plurality of storage options. Bulkheads and dividers may be installed and uninstalled as needed, as well as longitudinal dividers where necessary. Bulkheads and dividers may be installed using integrated slots and hooks, tabs, boss and channel, or hardware like bolts, nuts, screws, nails, clips, pins, and/or dowels, to name a few. At least a fuselage 212 may also be configurable to accept certain specific cargo containers, or a receptable that can, in turn, accept certain cargo containers.
At least a fuselage component 212 may include an interior cavity. An interior cavity may include a volumetric space configurable to include passenger seats and/or cargo. An interior cavity may be configured to include receptacles for fuel tanks, batteries, fuel cells, or other propellants as described herein.
With continued reference to FIG. 2, modular aircraft 200 may include at least a modular component 208 which include a collar component 216. For the purposes of this disclosure, a “collar component” may be a portion of the at least a modular component disposed aft of the common nose portion extending the lateral width of the aircraft and including a transitional cross-sectional shape. Collar component 216 may be mechanically connected to the nose portion at a first end and the at least a fuselage component at a second end opposite the nose portion. In nonlimiting embodiments collar component 216 may be one continuous component with at least a fuselage component 212. Collar component 216 may include one or more openings configured to be passenger doors. Collar component 216 may include one or more openings configured to be cargo doors, hatches, portals, or the like. In nonlimiting embodiments collar component 216 may include any structure as disclosed herein such a stringer and station frame or structural skin construction. In nonlimiting embodiments collar component 216 may include one or more aerodynamic surfaces configured to generate lift or serve as control surfaces as described herein.
With continued reference to FIG. 2, modular aircraft 200 may include modular beaver tail 220. Modular beaver tail 220 may be at least a modular component 208 disposed at the aft end of the modular aircraft 200. For the purposes of this disclosure, “beaver tail” may be a portion of a BWB aircraft disposed at the aft of the aircraft configured to support flight components such as control surfaces and serve as a mounting point for one or more propulsors such as nacelles substantially encapsulating jet engines. Modular beaver tail 220 may be configured to modify the lateral width of the aft section of modular aircraft 200. Modular beaver tail 220 may include a plurality of modular beaver tails 220 such as two, three, four, five, or six beaver tails disposed at the after of modular aircraft 200. Modular beaver tail 220 may include control surfaces disposed solely on the individual beaver tail or spanning the trailing edge of modular aircraft 200 and therefore modular beaver tail 220 would include only a portion of the control surfaces thereon.
With continued reference to FIG. 2, modular aircraft 200 may include at least an interface component 224, wherein the at least an interface component 224 may be configured to mechanically connect the at least a common component 204 at a first end to the at least a modular component 208 at a second end. At least an interface component 224 may include a latching mechanism. Latching element may comprise a pin, but alternatively or additionally may comprise a loop, D-ring, slot, channel, opening, hole, or another undisclosed type, to name a few. Latching element may be disposed in or on a surface of payload pallet, alone or one amongst a plurality of latching elements. Latching element may be disposed evenly or irregularly spaced along a surface or multiple surfaces of payload pallet. Latching element may comprise a component mechanically coupled to payload pallet or a component integral to payload pallet itself. One or ordinary skill in the art would appreciate that latching element may be disposed in a plurality of locations on at least an interface component 224. In a non-limiting example, latching mechanism may comprise a hook to capture at least a portion of latching element. One of ordinary skill in the art would appreciate that the mechanical shape and properties of one latching element may inform the mechanical shape and properties of latching mechanism that captures at least a portion of it. In other words, and in a non-limiting example, a plurality of latching elements may require a plurality of latching mechanisms. This example in no way limits the embodiments the latching mechanism or element may take, and in no way precludes the use of latching mechanism with any one or more of a plurality latching elements and vice versa.
Latching mechanism may be actuated manually or automatedly. Latching mechanism may comprise spring loaded elements that allow for at least a modular component 208 to move past at least a common component 204 in a first direction, actuate latching mechanism on the way by, and latch on to latching element and hinder movement of at least a modular component 2-8 in a second direction. Latching mechanism may be mechanically actuated to the capture position by a moving payload pallet as previously described or manually by personnel operating modular aircraft 200. Additionally, or alternatively, latching mechanism may be actuated automatedly by a plurality of methods. In a non-limiting example, a pilot from the cockpit may command latching mechanism to the capture position or the release position electronically through any of the actuation systems disclosed above in this paper like hydraulics, pneumatics, or electromechanical, to name a few. These disclosed actuation systems may drive latching mechanism to a capture position, release position, or any other intermediate or extreme position relative to latching element and fuselage.
Latching mechanism, latching element, payload pallet, may comprise suitable materials for high-strength, low-weight applications one of ordinary skill in the art of aircraft manufacture, passenger airlines, airline freighting would appreciate there may be a vast plurality of materials suitable for construction of this payload system in a modular aircraft. Some materials used may include aluminum and aluminum alloys, steel and steel alloys, titanium and titanium alloys, carbon fiber, fiberglass, various plastics including acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), high-density polyethylene (HDPE), and even wood, to name a few.
With continued reference to FIG. 2, at least an interface component 224 may include one or more mating surfaces including a male portion disposed on at least a common component 204 and a female portion disposed on at least a modular component 208. At least an interface component 224 may be configured to align at least a common component 204 and at least a modular component 208 when the male portion may be substantially encapsulated by the female portion. At least an interface component 224 may include a plurality of male and accompanying female portions disposed at a plurality of locations on modular aircraft 200. At least an interface component 224 may include alignment pins, holes, channels, bosses, slots, or the like to align components for assembly. At least an interface component 224 may include matched drilling components and riveting, bolting, screwing, doweling, or otherwise mechanically fastening at least a common component 204 and at least a modular component 208 to one another.
Referring now to FIG. 2B, modular aircraft 200 may be illustrated with at least a modular component 208 of a second, larger size than FIG. 2A. It should be noted that one of ordinary skill in the art would understand that at least a common component 204 may be of the exact same dimensions and functions between FIGS. 2A and 2B. At least a modular component 208 may be configured to serve a different purpose depending on its size, such as passenger carrying, cargo, fuel tanking, or the like. In nonlimiting examples, at least a modular component 208 may include a plurality of sizes, shapes, configurations, or a combination thereof for the same mission set, such as passenger carrying or cargo.
Referring now to FIG. 3, a plurality of common components 300 may be illustrated in relative positioning within modular aircraft 200. Plurality of common components 300 may include at least a flight component 304, which may be the same or similar to at least a flight component as described herein.
With continued reference to FIG. 3, plurality of common components 300 may include nose portion 308. Nose portion 308 may be the same as or similar to, nose portion 228. Nose portion 308 may be disposed at the foreword most point of modular aircraft 200. Nose portion 308 may include one or more sensors to detect environmental data. At least a sensor may include, torque sensor, gyroscope, accelerometer, magnetometer, inertial measurement unit (IMU), pressure sensor, force sensor, proximity sensor, displacement sensor, vibration sensor, among others. At least a sensor may include a sensor suite which may include a plurality of sensors that may detect similar or unique phenomena. For example, in a non-limiting embodiment, sensor suite may include a plurality of accelerometers, a mixture of accelerometers and gyroscopes, or a mixture of an accelerometer, gyroscope, and torque sensor. For the purposes of the disclosure, a “torque datum” may be one or more elements of data representing one or more parameters detailing power output by one or more propulsors, flight components, or other elements of an electric aircraft. A torque datum may indicate the torque output of at least a flight component 304. At least a flight component 304 may include any propulsor as described herein. In embodiment, at least a flight component 304 may include an electric motor, a propeller, a jet engine, a paddle wheel, a rotor, turbine, or any other mechanism configured to manipulate a fluid medium to propel an aircraft as described herein. an embodiment of at least a sensor 216 may include or be included in, a sensor suite. The herein disclosed system and method may comprise a plurality of sensors in the form of individual sensors or a sensor suite working in tandem or individually. A sensor suite may include a plurality of independent sensors, as described herein, where any number of the described sensors may be used to detect any number of physical or electrical quantities associated with an aircraft power system or an electrical energy storage system. Independent sensors may include separate sensors measuring physical or electrical quantities that may be powered by and/or in communication with circuits independently, where each may signal sensor output to a control circuit such as a user graphical interface. In a non-limiting example, there may be four independent sensors housed in and/or on battery pack measuring temperature, electrical characteristic such as voltage, amperage, resistance, or impedance, or any other parameters and/or quantities as described in this disclosure. In an embodiment, use of a plurality of independent sensors may result in redundancy configured to employ more than one sensor that measures the same phenomenon, those sensors being of the same type, a combination of, or another type of sensor not disclosed, so that in the event one sensor fails, the ability of a battery management system and/or user to detect phenomenon may be maintained and in a non-limiting example, a user alter aircraft usage pursuant to sensor readings.
With continued reference to FIG. 3, at least a sensor may include a moisture sensor. “Moisture”, as used in this disclosure, may be the presence of water, this may include vaporized water in air, condensation on the surfaces of objects, or concentrations of liquid water. Moisture may include humidity. “Humidity”, as used in this disclosure, may be the property of a gaseous medium (almost always air) to hold water in the form of vapor. An amount of water vapor contained within a parcel of air can vary significantly. Water vapor may be generally invisible to the human eye and may be damaging to electrical components. There are three primary measurements of humidity, absolute, relative, specific humidity. “Absolute humidity,” for the purposes of this disclosure, describes the water content of air and may be expressed in either grams per cubic meters or grams per kilogram. “Relative humidity”, for the purposes of this disclosure, may be expressed as a percentage, indicating a present stat of absolute humidity relative to a maximum humidity given the same temperature. “Specific humidity”, for the purposes of this disclosure, may be the ratio of water vapor mass to total moist air parcel mass, where parcel may be a given portion of a gaseous medium. A moisture sensor may be psychrometer. A moisture sensor may be a hygrometer. A moisture sensor may be configured to act as or include a humidistat. A “humidistat”, for the purposes of this disclosure, may be a humidity-triggered switch, often used to control another electronic device. A moisture sensor may use capacitance to measure relative humidity and include in itself, or as an external component, include a device to convert relative humidity measurements to absolute humidity measurements. “Capacitance”, for the purposes of this disclosure, may be the ability of a system to store an electric charge, in this case the system may be a parcel of air which may be near, adjacent to, or above a battery cell.
With continued reference to FIG. 3, at least a sensor may include electrical sensors. An electrical sensor may be configured to measure voltage across a component, electrical current through a component, and resistance of a component. Electrical sensors may include separate sensors to measure each of the previously disclosed electrical characteristics such as voltmeter, ammeter, and ohmmeter, respectively. One or more sensors may be communicatively coupled to at least a pilot control, the manipulation of which, may constitute at least an aircraft command. Signals may include electrical, electromagnetic, visual, audio, radio waves, or another undisclosed signal type alone or in combination. At least a sensor communicatively connected to at least a pilot control may include a sensor disposed on, near, around or within at least pilot control. At least a sensor may include a motion sensor. “Motion sensor”, for the purposes of this disclosure refers to a device or component configured to detect physical movement of an object or grouping of objects. One of ordinary skill in the art would appreciate, after reviewing the entirety of this disclosure, that motion may include a plurality of types including but not limited to: spinning, rotating, oscillating, gyrating, jumping, sliding, reciprocating, or the like. At least a sensor may include, torque sensor, gyroscope, accelerometer, torque sensor, magnetometer, inertial measurement unit (IMU), pressure sensor, force sensor, proximity sensor, displacement sensor, vibration sensor, among others. At least a sensor 224 may include a sensor suite which may include a plurality of sensors that may detect similar or unique phenomena. For example, in a non-limiting embodiment, sensor suite may include a plurality of accelerometers, a mixture of accelerometers and gyroscopes, or a mixture of an accelerometer, gyroscope, and torque sensor. The herein disclosed system and method may comprise a plurality of sensors in the form of individual sensors or a sensor suite working in tandem or individually. A sensor suite may include a plurality of independent sensors, as described herein, where any number of the described sensors may be used to detect any number of physical or electrical quantities associated with an aircraft power system or an electrical energy storage system. Independent sensors may include separate sensors measuring physical or electrical quantities that may be powered by and/or in communication with circuits independently, where each may signal sensor output to a control circuit such as a user graphical interface. In an embodiment, use of a plurality of independent sensors may result in redundancy configured to employ more than one sensor that measures the same phenomenon, those sensors being of the same type, a combination of, or another type of sensor not disclosed, so that in the event one sensor fails, the ability to detect phenomenon may be maintained and in a non-limiting example, a user alter aircraft usage pursuant to sensor readings.
With continued reference to FIG. 3, plurality of common components 300 may include control surface 312. Control surface 312 may be disposed at the trailing edge of a wing, winglet, fuselage, or other areas of modular aircraft. Control surface 312 may include any control surface as described herein such as a flap, aileron, slot, rudder, or the like. Control surface 312 may be configured to manipulate a fluid medium when mechanically actuated. Control surface 312 may be configured to alter a modular aircraft's trajectory such as changes in an aircraft's pitch, roll, yaw, and throttle as described herein.
With continued reference to FIG. 3, plurality of common components 300 may include at least an interface component 316. At least an interface component 316 may be the same or similar to at least an interface component 224 or any other interface component as described herein. At least an interface component 316 may be the imaginary mating surfaces of at least a common component when mated to adjacent components. For example, the dashed surface presented in FIG. 3 may be shown as flat polygonal surfaces, but a real-world aircraft would include one or more subsystems, cavities, structures, and the like. Therefore at least an interface surface 316 may be the portion of plurality of common components 300 mechanically connected to adjacent components such as at least a modular component 208.
Referring now to FIG. 4, a first aircraft configuration 400 may be shown. First aircraft configuration 400 may include any of the described components herein above. For example, and without limitation, first aircraft configuration 400 may include at least a common component 204 and at least a modular component 208. First aircraft configuration 400 may include at least a common component 204 and at least a modular component 208 of a first size. In nonlimiting examples first aircraft configuration may be configured to carry passengers in airline seats. In nonlimiting examples, first aircraft configuration 400 may be configured to carry fuel tanks for aerial refuel operations. Aerial refueling, also referred to as air refueling, in-flight refueling (IFR), air-to-air refueling (AAR), and tanking, may be the process of transferring aviation fuel from one military aircraft (the tanker) to another (the receiver) during flight. The two main refueling systems are probe-and-drogue, which may be simpler to adapt to existing aircraft, and the flying boom, which offers faster fuel transfer, but requires a dedicated boom operator station.
Still referring to FIG. 4, the procedure allows the receiving aircraft to remain airborne longer, extending its range or loiter time. A series of air refueling can give range limited only by crew fatigue and engineering factors such as engine oil consumption. Because the receiver aircraft can be topped up with extra fuel in the air, air refueling can allow a takeoff with a greater payload which could be weapons, cargo, or personnel: the maximum takeoff weight may be maintained by carrying less fuel and topping up once airborne. Aerial refueling has also been considered as a means to reduce fuel consumption on long-distance flights greater than 4,000 nautical miles (5,600 km; 4,500 mi). Potential fuel savings in the range of 45-40% have been estimated for long-haul flights (including the fuel used during the tanker missions).[2]
Still referring to FIG. 4, the aircraft providing the fuel may be specially designed for the task, although refueling pods can be fitted to existing aircraft designs if the “probe-and-drogue” system may be to be used. The cost of the refueling equipment on both tanker and receiver aircraft and the specialized aircraft handling of the aircraft to be refueled (very close “line astern” formation flying) has resulted in the activity only being used in military operations. In nonlimiting examples, first aircraft configuration 400 may be configured to carry cargo in the form of baggage, pallets, storage containers, or the like. A cargo aircraft (also known as freight aircraft, freighter, airlifter or cargo jet) may be a fixed-wing aircraft that may be designed or converted for the carriage of cargo rather than passengers. Such aircraft may not incorporate passenger amenities and generally feature one or more large doors for loading cargo. Freighters may be operated by civil passenger or cargo airlines, by private individuals or by the armed forces of individual countries.
With continued reference to FIG. 4, first configuration 400 may be designed for cargo flight may include features that distinguish them from conventional passenger aircraft: a wide/tall fuselage cross-section, a high-wing to allow the cargo area to sit near the ground, numerous wheels to allow it to land at unprepared locations, and a high-mounted tail to allow cargo to be driven directly into and off the aircraft, in nonlimiting examples. Many types can be converted from airliner to freighter by installing a main deck cargo door with its control systems; upgrading floor beams for cargo loads and replacing passenger equipment and furnishings with new linings, ceilings, lighting, floors, drains and smoke detectors.
Referring now to FIG. 5, a second aircraft configuration 500 may be shown. First aircraft configuration 400 may include any of the described components herein above. For example, and without limitation, second aircraft configuration 500 may include at least a common component 204 and at least a modular component 208. Second aircraft configuration 500 may include at least a common component 204 and at least a modular component 208 of a first size. In nonlimiting examples first aircraft configuration may be configured to carry passengers in airline seats. In nonlimiting examples, second aircraft configuration 500 may be configured to carry fuel tanks for aerial refuel operations. In nonlimiting examples, second aircraft configuration 500 may be configured to carry cargo in the form of baggage, pallets, storage containers, or the like. Second aircraft configuration 500 may include one or more doors, hatches, portals, or other openings disposed on at least a modular component 208 consistent with the configuration of second aircraft configuration 500. It should be known by one of ordinary skill in the art that there are near limitless number of aircraft configurations, sizes, uses, mission sets, and this disclosure serves in no way to limit the configurations of a modular aircraft as described herein.
Now referring to FIG. 6, a method 600 for manufacture of a modular aircraft is presented in flow diagram form. At step 605, method 600 includes receiving at least a common tooling component and at least a modular tooling component. At least a common tooling component may be consistent with any at least a common tooling component as described herein. At least a modular tooling component may be consistent with any at least a modular component described in this disclosure.
Still referring to FIG. 6, method 600 includes, at step 610, mechanically connecting, using at least a tooling interface component, at least a common tooling component at a first end to at least a modular tooling component at a second end. At least a tooling interface component may be consistent with any at least a tooling interface component as described herein. At least a tooling interface component may include a jig configured to align and mechanically connect the at least a common tooling component and at the at least a modular tooling component in a predetermined alignment. A jig may be consistent with any jig as described herein.
Still referring to FIG. 6, method 600 includes, at step 615, manufacturing, using at least a common tooling component, at least a flight component. At least a flight component may be consistent with any at least a flight component as described herein. The at least a common component may include at least a portion of a wing. At least a portion of a wing may be consistent with any portion of a wing as described herein. At least a common tooling component may include a portion of a mold. A mold may be consistent with any description of a mold herein. At least a common tooling component may include a mold configured for use with carbon fiber layup. Carbon fiber layup may be consistent with any carbon fiber layup as described herein. At least a common tooling component is configured to manufacture a nose portion of a modular aircraft.
Still referring to FIG. 6, method 600 includes, at step 620, manufacturing, using at least a modular tooling component, at least a fuselage component. At step 625, method 600 may include manufacturing using at least a modular tooling component, a collar component. At least a modular tooling component may be consistent with any modular tooling component as described herein. At least a modular tooling component may include a portion of a mold. A mold may be consistent with any description of a mold herein. At least a common tooling component may include a mold configured for use with carbon fiber layup. Carbon fiber layup may be consistent with any carbon fiber layup as described herein. At least a modular tooling component may include a first size. A first size may be consistent with any first size as described herein. At least a modular tooling component may include a second size.
It may be to be noted that any one or more of the aspects and embodiments described herein may be conveniently implemented using one or more machines (e.g., one or more computing devices that are utilized as a user computing device for an electronic document, one or more server devices, such as a document server, etc.) programmed according to the teachings of the present specification, as will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the computer art. Appropriate software coding can readily be prepared by skilled programmers based on the teachings of the present disclosure, as will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the software art. Aspects and implementations discussed above employing software and/or software modules may also include appropriate hardware for assisting in the implementation of the machine executable instructions of the software and/or software module.
Such software may be a computer program product that employs a machine-readable storage medium. A machine-readable storage medium may be any medium that may be capable of storing and/or encoding a sequence of instructions for execution by a machine (e.g., a computing device) and that causes the machine to perform any one of the methodologies and/or embodiments described herein. Examples of a machine-readable storage medium include, but are not limited to, a magnetic disk, an optical disc (e.g., CD, CD-R, DVD, DVD-R, etc.), a magneto-optical disk, a read-only memory “ROM” device, a random-access memory “RAM” device, a magnetic card, an optical card, a solid-state memory device, an EPROM, an EEPROM, and any combinations thereof. A machine-readable medium, as used herein, may be intended to include a single medium as well as a collection of physically separate media, such as, for example, a collection of compact discs or one or more hard disk drives in combination with a computer memory. As used herein, a machine-readable storage medium does not include transitory forms of signal transmission.
Such software may also include information (e.g., data) carried as a data signal on a data carrier, such as a carrier wave. For example, machine-executable information may be included as a data-carrying signal embodied in a data carrier in which the signal encodes a sequence of instruction, or portion thereof, for execution by a machine (e.g., a computing device) and any related information (e.g., data structures and data) that causes the machine to perform any one of the methodologies and/or embodiments described herein.
Examples of a computing device include, but are not limited to, an electronic book reading device, a computer workstation, a terminal computer, a server computer, a handheld device (e.g., a tablet computer, a smartphone, etc.), a web appliance, a network router, a network switch, a network bridge, any machine capable of executing a sequence of instructions that specify an action to be taken by that machine, and any combinations thereof. In one example, a computing device may include and/or be included in a kiosk.
FIG. 7 shows a diagrammatic representation of one embodiment of a computing device in the exemplary form of a computer system 700 within which a set of instructions for causing a control system to perform any one or more of the aspects and/or methodologies of the present disclosure may be executed. It may be also contemplated that multiple computing devices may be utilized to implement a specially configured set of instructions for causing one or more of the devices to perform any one or more of the aspects and/or methodologies of the present disclosure. Computer system 700 may include a processor 704 and a memory 708 that communicate with each other, and with other components, via a bus 712. Bus 712 may include any of several types of bus structures including, but not limited to, a memory bus, a memory controller, a peripheral bus, a local bus, and any combinations thereof, using any of a variety of bus architectures.
Processor 704 may include any suitable processor, such as without limitation a processor incorporating logical circuitry for performing arithmetic and logical operations, such as an arithmetic and logic unit (ALU), which may be regulated with a state machine and directed by operational inputs from memory and/or sensors; processor 704 may be organized according to Von Neumann and/or Harvard architecture as a non-limiting example. Processor 704 may include, incorporate, and/or be incorporated in, without limitation, a microcontroller, microprocessor, digital signal processor (DSP), Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), Complex Programmable Logic Device (CPLD), Graphical Processing Unit (GPU), general purpose GPU, Tensor Processing Unit (TPU), analog or mixed signal processor, Trusted Platform Module (TPM), a floating-point unit (FPU), and/or system on a chip (SoC).
Memory 708 may include various components (e.g., machine-readable media) including, but not limited to, a random-access memory component, a read only component, and any combinations thereof. In one example, a basic input/output system 716 (BIOS), including basic routines that help to transfer information between elements within computer system 700, such as during start-up, may be stored in memory 708. Memory 708 may also include (e.g., stored on one or more machine-readable media) instructions (e.g., software) 720 embodying any one or more of the aspects and/or methodologies of the present disclosure. In another example, memory 708 may further include any number of program modules including, but not limited to, an operating system, one or more application programs, other program modules, program data, and any combinations thereof.
Computer system 700 may also include a storage device 724. Examples of a storage device (e.g., storage device 724) include, but are not limited to, a hard disk drive, a magnetic disk drive, an optical disc drive in combination with an optical medium, a solid-state memory device, and any combinations thereof. Storage device 724 may be connected to bus 712 by an appropriate interface (not shown). Example interfaces include, but are not limited to, SCSI, advanced technology attachment (ATA), serial ATA, universal serial bus (USB), IEEE 2394 (FIREWIRE), and any combinations thereof. In one example, storage device 724 (or one or more components thereof) may be removably interfaced with computer system 700 (e.g., via an external port connector (not shown)). Particularly, storage device 724 and an associated machine-readable medium 728 may provide nonvolatile and/or volatile storage of machine-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, and/or other data for computer system 700. In one example, software 720 may reside, completely or partially, within machine-readable medium 728. In another example, software 720 may reside, completely or partially, within processor 704.
Computer system 700 may also include an input device 732. In one example, a user of computer system 700 may enter commands and/or other information into computer system 700 via input device 732. Examples of an input device 732 include, but are not limited to, an alpha-numeric input device (e.g., a keyboard), a pointing device, a joystick, a gamepad, an audio input device (e.g., a microphone, a voice response system, etc.), a cursor control device (e.g., a mouse), a touchpad, an optical scanner, a video capture device (e.g., a still camera, a video camera), a touchscreen, and any combinations thereof. Input device 732 may be interfaced to bus 712 via any of a variety of interfaces (not shown) including, but not limited to, a serial interface, a parallel interface, a game port, a USB interface, a FIREWIRE interface, a direct interface to bus 712, and any combinations thereof. Input device 732 may include a touch screen interface that may be a part of or separate from display 736, discussed further below. Input device 732 may be utilized as a user selection device for selecting one or more graphical representations in a graphical interface as described above.
A user may also input commands and/or other information to computer system 700 via storage device 724 (e.g., a removable disk drive, a flash drive, etc.) and/or network interface device 740. A network interface device, such as network interface device 740, may be utilized for connecting computer system 700 to one or more of a variety of networks, such as network 744, and one or more remote devices 748 connected thereto. Examples of a network interface device include, but are not limited to, a network interface card (e.g., a mobile network interface card, a LAN card), a modem, and any combination thereof. Examples of a network include, but are not limited to, a wide area network (e.g., the Internet, an enterprise network), a local area network (e.g., a network associated with an office, a building, a campus or other relatively small geographic space), a telephone network, a data network associated with a telephone/voice provider (e.g., a mobile communications provider data and/or voice network), a direct connection between two computing devices, and any combinations thereof. A network, such as network 744, may employ a wired and/or a wireless mode of communication. In general, any network topology may be used. Information (e.g., data, software 720, etc.) may be communicated to and/or from computer system 700 via network interface device 740.
Computer system 700 may further include a video display adapter 752 for communicating a displayable image to a display device, such as display device 736. Examples of a display device include, but are not limited to, a liquid crystal display (LCD), a cathode ray tube (CRT), a plasma display, a light emitting diode (LED) display, and any combinations thereof. Display adapter 752 and display device 736 may be utilized in combination with processor 704 to provide graphical representations of aspects of the present disclosure. In addition to a display device, computer system 700 may include one or more other peripheral output devices including, but not limited to, an audio speaker, a printer, and any combinations thereof. Such peripheral output devices may be connected to bus 712 via a peripheral interface 756. Examples of a peripheral interface include, but are not limited to, a serial port, a USB connection, a FIREWIRE connection, a parallel connection, and any combinations thereof.
The foregoing has been a detailed description of illustrative embodiments of the invention. Various modifications and additions can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention. Features of each of the various embodiments described above may be combined with features of other described embodiments as appropriate in order to provide a multiplicity of feature combinations in associated new embodiments. Furthermore, while the foregoing describes a number of separate embodiments, what has been described herein may be merely illustrative of the application of the principles of the present invention. Additionally, although particular methods herein may be illustrated and/or described as being performed in a specific order, the ordering may be highly variable within ordinary skill to achieve methods, systems, and software according to the present disclosure. Accordingly, this description may be meant to be taken only by way of example, and not to otherwise limit the scope of this invention.
Exemplary embodiments have been disclosed above and illustrated in the accompanying drawings. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes, omissions and additions may be made to that which may be specifically disclosed herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
Page, Mark Allan
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